The Delivery Boy
by Canadian Sasquatch
Summary: The job was supposed to be simple; get the package to Professor Oak's lab in Kanto from Hoenn. Sam realizes soon enough that even the simplest of jobs can be dangerous, especially when an evil corporation wants you dead. Original story, not based off the plots of the games, anime or manga.
1. The Pickup

**Disclaimer**: **I do not own Pokemon, the games or the anime. This is a fan made story made for entertainment purposes. Any regions and character from games or anime included in this story are property of Nintendo. Any original characters are made and owned by me.**

Before you read, one thing you should know. This story does not follow the path of the anime or the games. It is an original story plot (kinda) and only uses the games and shows as a reference for the cities and such.

Reviews are appreciated so drop one if you want.

* * *

"Sam, wake up! You have to get to Professor Birch's lab by noon."

A young teen, with shaggy brown hair, was sprawled across his bed while a woman yelled at him. The woman, obviously his mother, started to literally drag him off the mattress by his leg. Only then did he start to stir and he opened his dark brown eyes.

"Mom, leave me alone, my alarm hasn't even gone off yet," he mumbled groggily. His mother slapped him lightly on the back on the head to get him more focused.

"You slept through your alarm, Sam," she told him and jutted her thumb towards his nightstand. Sam's sight wandered to the digital clock by his bed and his eyes shot open when he saw the time.

"Its eleven thirty already?" he exclaimed, "I only got half an hour left!"

"Exactly, now get ready quickly if you want to get that job," his mother ordered him and left his room. Sam sat on the edge of the bed in shock before his brain remembered what to do. He scrambled out of his pajamas, put on his lucky blue shirt, a pair of shorts and his baseball cap before running downstairs.

He jumped into the foyer, skidding around the corner to the kitchen. His mom handed him a piece of toast and he wolfed down in an instant. As he ran back to the front door, he grabbed a pair of fresh socks from the top of the laundry pile and jumped on the spot to get them on. The pair of running shoes slipped on snugly as he picked up his bag and he ran out of the house, shutting the door before shouting a goodbye to his mom.

In Sam's mind, he was beating himself for being so stupid. Birch had been kind enough to give him the job of delivering a package to Kanto and the last thing he wanted to do was be late for the pickup. The job would take up most of the summer break but Sam didn't care. He was in need of money and all he had planned for the school break was playing videogames and feeling his ass grow.

There was a crossroads ahead and Sam skidded to a stop. He looked ahead, down the path that so many ten-year-olds had travelled to get their first Pokémon from Birch. There was a time in Sam's life where he could have become a trainer but he chose not to. His school grades were great and he reasoned that becoming a scientist would benefit the world greater than becoming a trainer. He had no interest in training Pokémon, unlike so many of his friends.

Instead of heading straight, he headed down the path to his left, which lead to the woods. It was off the beaten path but unlike the well known road, which had many bends, this one lead right to the lab. Of course, that meant going through a small dark forest but Sam had been through enough times to know that wild Pokémon didn't attack him. As he ran through the forest, he realized something was wrong. He looked around for the source of discomfort but didn't know what it was.

The trees were eerily still and no sounds of wild Pokémon came from the foliage. The smell of damp and decaying plant hung in the air. To Sam, this was always how this forest felt. Nothing seemed different. He patted his pockets and groaned loudly. He had forgotten his keys and his mom would be out by the time he got back. He spun around and started to sprint back to his home.

"Stop right there, kiddo," a gruff voice said from the darkness. Like an idiot, Sam stopped in his tracks. In an instant, he was surrounded by five large, masked men. A sixth stepped from the shadows and walked up to Sam, "You have something we want." The voice was the same as the first. Too bad Sam had no idea what they were talking about.

"I don't have anything of value," he tried to explain calmly, but his voice wavered with fear, "my bag doesn't have anything in it, I was just on my way h-"

"Cut the bullcrap, kid," the man said harshly, "we know you're the delivery boy for Birch. Now give us the package unless you want to have an accident."

Sam's eyes widened in terror. They wanted whatever Birch was delivering and they were prepared to do anything to get it, "I-I have-I haven't p-picked up the p-package yet," he stuttered, hoping that they'd let him go. Instead, the leader threw him on the ground violently. When he tried to get up, Sam got kicked in the ribs.

"We told you not to lie," he growled as Sam rolled on the ground in pain, "now we're going to have to do it the hard way."

At that, the rest of the group ganged up on him. Sam, who had only just finished grade nine, didn't stand a chance against the grown men. They kicked him, punched him and stomped on him. All he could do was curl in the fetal position and hope that they would stop soon. Eventually, one of them ripped his bag off his shoulders and tore it open. He flipped it upside down but nothing came out.

"This bag is empty!" he yelled and tossed the bag aside, "He hasn't even gotten the ball yet!"

They all swore loudly, all choosing a different curse word. Sam started to get up, fighting to stay conscious through the pain. He barely managed to get on all fours before the leader kicked him savagely in his head. For a brief moment, Sam felt the boot connect with his head and heard something crack before he was knocked out. His limp body rolled into a ditch and the six men left him there to die.

* * *

For a few minutes, Sam was able to regain consciousness. His eyes didn't seem to work but he could just make out the sound of talking.

"Oh, look at this poor boy," a voice said. To Sam, it sounded like an old woman, "those bullies really did a lot to him."

"Heh, maybe if he was a better fighter, he wouldn't have lost so badly," a second voice commented. This one seemed to be from a man. A smack was heard and the second voice cried out in pain.

"It was six on one, no one could win against those odds," the first voice said sharply.

"Okay, okay, but what can we do for him?" the second voice asked, "I don't think he'll last much longer in that state."

"We'll get him to that place the humans call a hospital. Maybe he could recover under their care."

"How are we supposed to get him there?"

"You idiot! We're big; we can drag him if we have to."

The second voice agreed with a reluctant sigh. Sam felt an intense pain rip though his shoulder and he blacked out once again.


	2. Brain Damage

A middle aged couple stood next to a hospital bed. Tucked under the covers and hooked up to feeding tubes lay a young figure wrapped in bandages. His whole head was wrapped in white cloth that was stained red from blood. Around him, two Chansey tended to his injuries, changing the bandages and cleaning and dressing his wounds. A young doctor entered the room and the couple rushed over to him.

"Is our son okay? Will he recover? When will he wake up? Does he have amnesia?" they asked a torrent of questions which the doctor silenced by holding up a hand.

"Mr. and Mrs. Crenshaw, I understand your worry but I'm afraid I have some bad news," he began, rushing his words as if he was trying to spare the concerned parents some pain, "Sam appears to have been beaten really badly. He has a few cracked ribs and has sustained a serious concussion. His body will recover fully but at this time, I cannot tell how the brain will heal."

The woman burst out into tears and buried her face into her husband's chest. Sam's father managed to keep his resolve but his eyes still filled with tears.

"What are you saying?" he asked simply, his voice hoarse. The doctor sighed.

"I'm saying that Sam has received major brain damage," he said in a low voice, causing the woman to cry even harder, "If he wakes up, it would be nothing short of a miracle. Please, don't set your hopes for a full recovery. He may very well stay in a coma for the rest of his life."

The doctor then left the room, leaving Sam's parents alone with their comatose son. His father let out a sob but tried to stay strong for his wife. The couple sank into a chair and watched the Chansey work on their son. As he sat there, all he could do was hope that his son pulled through.

* * *

Sunlight seeped through his eyelids, searing his pupils. A massive headache pulsed in the back of his head and he released a low groan. Summoning his minimal strength, he managed to open his eyes only to squeeze them shut again. There was too much light, which made the pain worse. After waiting for a long couple of minutes for the agony to subside, he opened his eyes just a crack to get used to the glare.

Sam took in his surroundings slowly. He was laying in a white bed in a very clean room, so he crossed off his room from the list of possible places. After more details came into focus, he realized he was in a hospital. It wasn't from the room that he realized this fact; rather it was the Chansey standing by the door. He stared dumbly at it for a while until it turned and walked over to him. Its face turned to shock when it saw that he was awake but quickly melted into joy.

"He's awake!" it squealed in delight. Its voice was high pitch and it kept repeating it and ran out of the room. Sam lay there in confusion, unable to register what just happened. He could have sworn that the Pokémon had talked and he understood exactly what it had said. He thought he was just hallucinating until the Chansey returned, bringing its friend along with it.

"See, he's awake," she said proudly, pointing at Sam. The other shook her head in disbelief.

"Unbelievable," the second one muttered, "The doctor said he had severe brain damage and he's recovered in just a week."

"The doctor didn't say that he couldn't recover," the fist pointed out, "he just said it would take a miracle for that to happen."

"Well he got his miracle."

"Excuse me," Sam croaked out. They had said something that disturbed him, and it wasn't the fact that he could understand them, "but I've been out for a week?"

The two Chansey jumped back in surprise. The first one exclaimed, "What did he say?"

"I think he asked us how long he's been out for," the other replied in a hushed voice.

"I heard what he asked. How can he understand us though?"

"Look, this is all very confusing for me too, but can you please answer my question?" Sam pleaded. He had no idea what was going on and he just wanted one thing to make sense. The second one, seeming to be the calmer one, decided to answer.

"You've been in a coma for a week," she started to say in a slow voice, "when I first saw you, you were not looking too pretty. Your face was cut up bad, skull was fractured, ribs cracked and don't forget the horrible concussion."

"The doctor said you had a better chance of ending up a vegetable for the rest of your life than ever healing," the second chipped in, "we found you right outside the hospital. Someone must have dumped you there because we didn't see anyone."

Sam rolled onto his back again. Other pains in his body seemed to be appearing, as if they were hiding from him and choosing the best time to become the most annoying. He groaned slightly and noticed something shift out of the corner of his eye. He turned and focussed on the source. A man slept on the couch, his mouth hanging open slightly. His untidy brown hair was speckled with spots of gray. It took Sam an embarrassing amount of time to recognize him.

"Dad?" He said his voice barely a whisper. Somehow, this managed to wake his father because he jolted awake and stared at Sam. His face broke into a grin.

"Sam, you're awake!" he cried out and went to hug his son. He paused halfway through the gesture and gave an embarrassed chuckle, "I would hug you but you seem to be more bandaged than a mummy."

Sam examined his limbs and saw that his dad was right. His arms were covered in cloth and he could only assume that the rest of his body looked similar. He raised an arm to his feel his head but quickly pulled away from the sharp pain.

"Where's mom? Why isn't she here?" Sam asked as he looked around the room. The Chansey had left, leaving him alone with his father.

"She's at home resting," his father said, "she has barely slept since you were injured. She stayed by your side the whole time, barely eating. Eventually, I told her to go home and get some rest. Your mom is going to flip when I tell her you woke up and she wasn't there to see it. Speaking of which, I got to go make a call."

Sam watched his father get up and leave the room. Once he was gone, he rubbed his sore head, trying to numb the pain that had risen during the conversation. The pain faded a bit and Sam slumped back against the pillows.

He could barely remember the fight that he was in. Sure, it was bad that he couldn't remember the last thing that he was awake for in over a week but Sam didn't want to hold onto that memory. Just thinking about it sent shivers up his spine. A wave of exhaustion suddenly washed over him and being too weak to fight it, Sam fell back into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

The next week passed in a blur for Sam. When he woke again, his mom wrapped him in a bear hug despite his protests. Catching up on what he had missed for his brief time in a coma, he soon fell asleep again. Whenever he woke, his parents were at his bedside so Sam never was never alone. A couple times, his school buddies came in to talk with him and keep him company.

But despite always having someone around, the two people he really wanted to talk to never came back. They weren't even human beings. Since his first conversation with the Chansey, he had been yearning to speak with them again. However, they always avoided him, making him think that he had been hallucinating all along.

After two weeks of being hospitalized, the bandages came off and Sam finally got to walk around. His first time was a success and he managed to walk around the room before being forced back into bed. When the doctor brought him a mirror so he could see his new face, a stranger looked back at him.

With all the blows to his head, his face had become heavily scarred. The doctors had to shave his shaggy hair to repair the damage done to his skull. Now, Sam could see every scar from the beating, and while he did take pride in looking kind of awesome, he was disappointed that he would never look the same again.

Just behind his right ear, multiple scars overlapped each other to form a pattern that was similar to a spider web, only with a lot less links. Another ran in a crooked line from his right eyebrow to just under his left eye. The third scar on his face ran along the bottom left of his jaw and extended up to his left ear. He noticed two smaller scars that he nearly overlooked. One was crescent shaped that started above his left eye and curved around his temple to end in his hairline. The other was much smaller and just cut downwards from the right side of his mouth and ended just below the dip of his jaw. While the last two scars were not as prominent as the one on the side of head, Sam was disturbed by exactly how much his face had changed.

On the last day he was at the hospital, Professor Birch came to visit Sam. At first he was angry at the professor but he suppressed his feelings. There was no way that he could have known that Sam was going to be hurt for the delivery.

"I need to talk to you about the job," the professor said as he sat on the edge of the bed, "the position is open if you still want to take it."

Sam was perplexed for a moment until he realized what the professor was saying, "You still want me to take the job?" he asked. When the professor nodded, Sam continued, "Really? After all that has happened, you still trust me with your delivery? Keep in mind, the people who ganged up on me were intent on getting your package."

"That's the thing," the professor started to explain, "After what happened to you, all the volunteers suddenly backed down from the offer. I don't blame them. I honestly wouldn't blame you if you choose not to take this job. If you are still interested, come by my lab when you get out and I promise to explain everything to you. I'll even tell you what the package is. You of all people deserve to know."

He got up to leave before turning back to say one more thing, "If you do choose to come, please take the normal route. The forest path is quicker but I feel it may be too risky now." He then exited the room, leaving Sam with a difficult choice.


	3. The Package

Two days after the professor's visit, Sam found himself walking along the path that had been worn out by so many trainers from before. He still didn't know how, but his parents agreed to let him go through with this job. They did seem really worried but Sam found that it was surprisingly easy for him to convince them. His parents have never been strict with him before but you'd think that after your son gets brutally beaten that you'd become a little more protective of him.

As he walked along the curve, he heard voices coming from the forest to his left. Sam quickened his stride in fear of being ambushed again. The voices, which appeared to be a man and a woman, followed him, matching his pace. Eventually, he came to an abrupt halt and turned to the forest.

"Leave me alone!" he yelled into the darkness, "Go away, or at least show yourself!"

For a while, there was silence. Sam turned to walk away when a loud rustling came from behind him. He snapped his head back to the moving foliage so he could know if they were friend or foe. The think undergrowth parted and two large beetles stepped out, rubbing their hands nervously. Sam was taken aback by this, because he could have sworn he heard human voices.

"Are you the two who were following me?" he asked the Heracross. The two Pokémon nodded earnestly. Sam followed his question with another, "Why?"

The Heracross exchanged confused looks before one of them started talking, "We were making sure no one attacked you," the male said in a quiet, if not embarrassed, voice. At the look of Sam's shocked face, the female continued, "We saw what those goons did to you two weeks ago. After seeing that you recovered, we decided that we would watch over you from the forest, so that no one would jump you again."

The Heracross started to become uncomfortable under the human's stare. Sam wasn't trying to disturb them, he was just staring in astonishment because he could actually understand what they were saying like they had been speaking English.

"Wait, you saw what happened to me?" he asked after regaining his senses. The male nodded rapidly.

"We saw everything," he said, "once they left you in the ditch, we picked you up and dropped you off at the hospital. Quite honestly, I didn't think you were going to survive," he paused once he was done talking but a look of bewilderment spread across his face, "You understood what I said before?"

"Yeah, I know, I surprised some Chansey at the hospital," Sam told the confused Heracross, "I have no idea how I can understand Pokémon now, but I think it has something to do with the fight."

"It's a good thing we saved you then," the female boasted, "you have a valuable skill now."

"Honey, don't take all the credit," the male sighed, "all we did was get him to help. We didn't actually heal him or give him these powers."

"Without us, he would have definitely died!"

"I know, just try to be a little more modest for once."

"I'll show you being modest!"

Their verbal argument escalated into a fist fight between the two bug-type Pokémon. Sam didn't know what to do so he thanked them for saving his life and continued to Birch's lab. He was still trying to figure out how he gained this strange new power when he found himself at the door to the lab. Reasoning that it was a secret best left untold to a professor, he rang the bell and Birch let him in.

Sam had never seen the inside of the lab before so it took a moment for him to take it all in. Massive pieces of machinery hugged the walls and covered the floor. Pokémon of all different shapes and sizes could be seen being examined by different researchers. Just the noise of it all overwhelmed him. He could hear hundreds of voices, coming from what he guessed were Pokémon and humans alike.

Birch prodded him in the back for him to get a move on. Sam followed the professor through the maze of machines, occasionally catching parts of a Pokémon conversation. They entered a separate room and Birch shut the door, muffling the sounds from the other side.

"It gets pretty hectic in there on some days," he said with a grin. Sam tried to return the smile but could only grimace. The noise had made his headache return, something he was going to have to get used to after receiving such a bad concussion.

"What was the point of coming into this room?" Sam asked, "It doesn't seem too different from the other one."

Birch's face turned serious, "In here we have more privacy," he told Sam, "only you and I can know about what the package is."

Sam's mind rose to full attention as the professor rummaged around. He wondered what could be so valuable and rare that people would kill to get their hands on it. Birch gave a quick shout of triumph and half ran back to Sam. He stuck out his hand, showing the rare item to the teen.

"It's a ball," Sam stated flatly. The professor gave a tired sigh.

"Examine it more closely," he told him. Sam picked up the ball and studied it closer. It looked exactly like a Pokéball, except instead of a red top, it was deep purple. On its sides were to orbs that slightly protruded from it, which were a lighter shade of purple. The letter 'M' was stamped on the front in white.

"It looks like a Pokéball, only a different colour," Sam said after inspecting it to the best of his abilities.

"That's exactly what it is, except this is a one of a kind Pokéball," Birch told Sam, "this particular one has a catch rate of a hundred percent."

Sam nodded before realizing what this meant, "wait a minute," he said, stopping mid-nod, "that means this ball can catch any wild Pokémon, no matter how powerful it is, on the first try."

"Spot on, Sam," Birch congratulated him, "I've always been told how smart you were. Do you understand now, why this is so important?"

"Someone could use this to capture a Legendary," Sam said slowly, "and then they would have complete control over it."

"Yes!" the professor exclaimed, "And if the same people manage to replicate it, they could rule the world. Capturing all the Legendaries would give them unimaginable power."

Sam went to run his hands through his hair like he used to, but stopped when he remembered that he didn't have any left. He just shook his head in disbelief, understanding why he had almost been beaten to death. Something still bugged him though.

"If this is so valuable, why are you getting a kid to do it?" he asked the professor, "I mean, there must be dozens of more qualified people out there to deliver this. Why not hire one of them? And why can't you send the ball through the teleporter like other Pokéballs?"

"Good question," Birch said, "the Masterball can't be teleported for some reason. As for the delivery, I thought of that too. The people who want to steal this ball, mainly Team Rocket, would expect me to hire a qualified team. So I reasoned that if I could get an ordinary kid to do it, and then send a decoy team, they would be more likely to follow the more experienced people other than just a regular kid."

"Well, I have the scars to prove that didn't work," Sam said while tracing his hand over the jagged line that ran across the centre of his face, "they knew I was going to be delivering it and they ambushed me on the path."

"I know, someone must have tipped them off. However, it's too late though to hire another team. I'm afraid they won't get here on time. By then, Team Rocket could just break in here and steal it themselves, other than waiting to steal it off someone else."

Sam breathed out heavily through his nose. He didn't like the idea of intentionally throwing himself into harm's way, "I'll do it," he said suddenly. Birch stepped back, puzzled at first but then joyful.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" he asked, wanting to see if Sam would reconsider, "remember what I said. This could be really dangerous."

"I'm positive," Sam said clearly, determination in his voice, "nobody else wants to do it. As you said, if an evil group gets their hands on it, they could hurt a lot of innocent people."

"Good, but before you go, I have something to give you," he went back to a table that was cluttered with Pokéballs. He sorted through them and picked out an unremarkable one for the group, "after I visited you in the hospital, I talked to your parents about this job. They seemed worried but I promised them I would think of a way to keep you safe."

He placed both Pokéballs in Sam's hands and continued, "Recently, a trainer in Kanto caught a really powerful Pokémon. I talked to him and he said he would be happy to let you have it."

Sam held the red Pokéball away from him like it was poison, "I don't want to be a trainer though!" he claimed, "getting a Pokémon will make me one and I've already made a pact not to never become one. I want to become a scientist."

"Getting a Pokémon makes you as much as a trainer as sleeping in a garage makes you a car," Birch explained calmly, "being a trainer is more than just owning a Pokémon. You have to make them fight to get stronger. I'm giving you this one because I personally think that less people will try to hurt you if you have him as a guard."

"But... I..." Sam tried to think of an argument but he couldn't. The professor's logic made perfect sense. He was too weak to do this alone, "fine, I'll keep it."

He didn't want to admit it or even think it, but Sam thought that having a Pokémon partner would actually be useful. Other than protection, he would have someone to talk to on his journey. Since he could now understand them, talking to a Pokémon might prove very interesting.

"Good, you know where you're going, right?" the professor asked after Sam accepted the balls. Sam shook his head and Birch explained, "You need to get to Kanto and give the ball to Professor Oak. He is the most experienced researcher alive and he could crack the Masterball's mystery. The lab itself is well protected because of all the Pokémon that are there act like security."

Ha gave a Sam a slip of paper as well and continued to talk, "that's a boarding pass for S.S Anne. Go to Slateport City and you'll find the ship. It will take you Kanto with a quick stop in Johto. If you're fast enough, you can make the delivery to Oak's lab and make it back to the ship before it departs. If all goes well, you should get home in a month."

"And what if I miss the ship?" Sam asked, just in case the occasion should arise.

"Then find a blimp operator who can fly you to Johto," Birch answered. Sam raised an eyebrow as if to ask if he was serious, "no, that wasn't a joke. A blimp may be the only way you can get to the other regions. Few Pokémon can fly that distance and it'll be a long journey by sea if you try a water type."

Sam nodded and Birch gave him some more miscellaneous information on various subjects. He just nodded, only vaguely paying attention to the professor. Before he left, Birch gave him a Pokédex in case Sam came across any unfamiliar Pokémon. With the package secured safely in his bag, Sam headed home to stay one last day before starting his journey.


	4. Partners

Sam sat on his bed, playing with the Pokéball Birch had given to him. Inside the ball was a Pokémon that was meant to protect him on his journey. He had no idea what kind it was since he had yet to open the ball. Truthfully, he didn't want to ever have to open it and meet his Pokémon. The thought of becoming a trainer revolted him. His mom called him down for dinner and he left the Pokéball on his bed and ran to the kitchen.

"So you're really going through with this?" his dad asked him at the table. Sam nodded and continued to chew on his steak. His parents had made his favourite meal for his going away dinner.

"Sam, you don't have to do this if you don't want to," his mom told him in a concerned voice, "there's a lot you can do here in Littleroot, you don't have to go on an adventure."

"Mom, I think you just don't want me to go because you're worried," Sam said once he swallowed, "I know that you concerned about me getting hurt, you can just say it."

"You're right, I just don't want you to get hurt so badly again," she said and her eyes started to fill with tears. Sam released a heavy sigh. He hated seeing others get sad, especially his mother.

"Mom, nothing like that is going to happen again," he promised her, "Birch gave me a Pokémon, just like you asked him to. I'm a lot safer than I was before."

"Speaking of which, what is your new Pokémon?" his dad asked curiously.

"I don't know. I haven't let it out of the Pokéball yet," Sam answered truthfully. Another bad trait that he had was that he just couldn't lie. It wasn't necessarily a bad trait just something that would get him into more trouble than if he just told a little white lie.

"Sam, you have to get acquainted with your Pokémon if you want to have a good relationship with them," he father said sternly, "you'll become much more effective as partners."

"I know, dad," Sam said angrily, pushing himself away from the table and standing up, "I'm going to go eat the rest in my room and then I'll see who my Pokémon is. Thanks for dinner."

He felt like kind of a jerk for leaving his parents at the table. Then again, he did have to see who his partner was. Maybe some food will make it friendlier. Sam hurried up the stairs and set the plate down on his dresser. He picked up the Pokéball and pressed the button to release his Pokémon. In a flash of red light, his partner materialized on the floor.

"Who are you?" they both asked in unison. Sam truly had no idea what kind of Pokémon it was. It stood at about three feet tall, was bright orange and its tail had flame burning on the end.

"Uh... well my name is Sam," he introduced himself, "and you are...?"

"My name is Pyro," it snapped, crossing its lizard arms, "doesn't matter though, you can't understand me."

"Pyro..." Sam murmured to himself, "fitting name for a fire type."

"Yeah, of cour- wait, what the hell?" Pyro changed direction in mid-sentence, "How did you know my name?"

"You just told me it," Sam said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, but you understood me," Pyro stated, his eyes narrowing, "humans can't understand Pokémon."

Sam picked up his plate and sat down on his bed, "Clearly I just did," he told the lizard, which just confused him even more.

"But how?" he protested, "Did you learn our language or something?"

"Nah, I got a boot to the side of the head," Sam said with a grimace, "I'm just guessing that's what caused it because I sure couldn't talk to Pokémon before," he popped another piece of meat into his mouth, "what are you, exactly?" he asked Pyro once he swallowed. The Pokémon looked taken aback.

"What, can't you recognize a Charmander?" he asked in disbelief. When he saw Sam's blank stare he groaned loudly, "Oh, you've got be kidding me!" Sam asked him what was wrong and the Charmander let out a bark of laughter, "I got a trainer who doesn't even know what species I am. This is going to be one crappy trip."

"I'm not a trainer," Sam told him and the Charmander swore loudly.

"Are you serious?" he cried, "Not only do I have to protect your sorry ass but you won't even train me?"

"It's not that I won't try to train you, I just don't know how."

"That's not the point!" Pyro's voice was becoming really angry and his tail flame increased in intensity, "The thing is, I'm freaking huge for a Charmander. Most are only two feet tall but I'm at least a foot taller than that. I would have been so powerful in the wild and when I was caught by a good trainer, I thought I would become stronger than I could have ever hoped to be. But of course, the trainer gives me away to some scrub who can barely defend himself on a delivery."

"Well I didn't want you either, if that makes you feel better," Sam retorted in anger, "I never asked for you. If this job wasn't so dangerous, I would have never needed you."

"Please, how hazardous could this possibly be?" Pyro mocked. In response, Sam flicked on the light next to his bed, brightening his face. The Charmander recoiled at the sight of the human's scarred face.

"Do these answer your question, wise guy?" Sam demanded. He had gotten the right effect from Pyro, as the Pokémon was still horrified.

"What happened to your face?" he whispered. Sam's scowl grew deeper as the memory came back.

"I was supposed to start this job two weeks ago," he recounted, "on the way to the lab, I had cut through the forest for a shortcut only to get surrounded by a bunch of goons from Team Rocket. They thought I had the package and beat me before they realized I hadn't retrieved it yet. Some Heracross found me and brought me to a hospital. My parents were told I had a better chance of staying in coma than recovering."

When he was done, Pyro stood there with a look of pity on his face. Sam smirked a little at his reaction.

"I... I'm sorry, I-I didn't know," he started but Sam cut him off.

"Save your pity," he told Pyro, "it's not your fault I got these. What is your fault is the fact that you're too quick to judge," he lay down in the bed and rolled onto his side, "you can have the rest of the food if you want. I'm not hungry anymore."

Sam tried to sleep but he just couldn't. He had the same problem the night before and was worn out. The room was silent and the only noise for a while was the sound of chewing, probably from Pyro eating the remnants of Sam's dinner. After what seemed like hours, Sam finally drifted into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

The early morning sun cast long shadows across the ground. Two figures stood at the edge of route 101, staring down the dirt path. A dry wind passed over them, disturbing the flame on the Charmander's tail. The cry of Taillow could be heard from the surrounding forest.

"So... we gonna get going soon?" Pyro asked, breaking the silence.

"I guess we should," Sam sighed and looked over his shoulder at Littleroot, "we need to get to Slateport in two weeks and I have no idea how far that it."

"You don't have a map?" Pyro stared incredulously at his partner.

"Nah, we didn't have one," Sam stated and started down the road.

"We are so going to die," the fire-type mumbled and ran to catch up to his trainer. They walked in silence for a while, and Pyro stared at his trainer's face. The scars etched into Sam's face were even more noticeable now in the bright sun than in the feeble light of his room. Every pink line could be seen clearly, even the ones that were partially hidden by his hair. He assumed that's why he was wearing a hat, to cover the scars, but the sun was shining right on his face, removing any shadows.

"Stop staring at my scars and watch for trouble," Sam ordered suddenly, catching the Pokémon's gaze, "you have a job, and that's to take care of any Pokémon how try to hurt us. We both know that I'm in no condition to fight."

"Stop being such a wuss," Pyro scolded him, "you got hurt two weeks ago. Any pains should be gone by now. I would definitely be fighting at this time."

"I was in a coma for a week, dumbass," Sam mumbled, but Pyro caught it. His flame flared at the insult. He was about to say something nasty at the human but a low growl stopped him. Both of them froze in their tracks, waiting for the source of the noise.

The grass on the edge of the path shook and parted way for a snarling Poochyena. Its fur was standing up straight and its teeth were bared. Pyro regained his senses and walked in front of Sam, his claws coming out. He prepared for a fight.

"You think you can take this guy?" Sam asked him.

"He doesn't stand a chance," Pyro growled, fire burning in his eyes. He lunged at the Poochyena, knocking it to the ground. It got up and ran at the Charmander. Pyro tried to evade but was hit by its head in his gut.

He skidded along the ground and got back on his feet. He charged the wild Pokémon and scratched it across the face, drawing blood that splattered across the ground. The Poochyena yelped in pain and fled the battle.

"Yeah, you better run!" Pyro yelled and started to charge after it. Sam placed a hand on his shoulder to calm the Charmander down.

"Not today, Pyro, we have other things to take care of," Sam told him and turned him back towards route 101. Pyro didn't resist, being tired out by the fight. Maybe if Sam had actually assisted him, he wouldn't have taken a hit. He hated to admit it, but he wasn't really prepared for how much the tackle would hurt.

"Why didn't you help me?" Pyro demanded from the human. Sam shrugged a bit.

"It looked like you were doing fine," Sam said, "I thought you could handle yourself in that fight."

"Yeah, well as a trainer you're supposed to tell me what attacks to use other than just standing there like a useless blob. How else are we supposed to get better?"

"I don't know what to do!" he shouted at the Charmander, "I never wanted to be a trainer. How could I possibly know that I was going to be in this situation?"

"No one knows what's going to happen to them! Life rarely ever goes the way you plan, so when it doesn't, you have to learn to live with whatever it throws at you. Two weeks ago, I bet you didn't wake up and say, 'Oh, today seems nice to get the crap beaten out of me'. No, it just happened and now you've got to deal with having a messed up face. I didn't think I was going to caught and become your partner, but I've dealt with that and I'm trying to get stronger. You're a trainer now, so instead of bitching and moaning about it, get better at being one."

Sam didn't respond. He opted for just fuming in silence other than retaliating. Deep down, he knew that Pyro was right. What he said was harsh but true. He was going to have to live with his past and face whatever happened later.


	5. Trainer Battle

The rock tumbled along the path. When it came to a rest, Sam kicked it again. Sam kicked it whenever it came to a rest so conversation wouldn't happen between him and Pyro. His anger towards the Charmander had faded a little but what he said still lingered in the back of Sam's mind. The part of dealing with his new face is what really bothered him, not being a better trainer. The scars still hurt at the slightest movement of his face and he could barely keep a permanent grimace from his face. He had to live the rest of his life looking like a freak, but as Pyro said, he would just have to deal with it.

The fire-type lingered behind his companion by a couple steps. Humans released faint odors depending on their moods and he was getting better at identifying them. Right now, Sam was either really angry or depressed, possibly a mix of the two. He knew better than to say anything but he hated silence.

"What attacks do you have?" Sam asked out of the blue. Pyro was taken aback for a bit before he responded.

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"I may not be a trainer but I shouldn't hold you back by not helping you get stronger. If I know your attacks, I can at least do something other than watch."

Excitement coursed through Pyro. He might finally have a trainer, even if Sam didn't know it. His heart fell when he realized exactly how many moves he had, "I know Scratch, but that's basically it."

"That's it?" Sam questioned with a raised eyebrow, "You don't have any fire moves?"

"Well, I can use Ember but..." he puffed out a few pathetic tongues of flame, "that's all I can really use at this moment. It'll get better once I get stronger, I promise."

Sam grunted an okay and somehow that made Pyro feel a lot worse. He was supposed to be really powerful but he couldn't even use a basic fire attack. He nearly ran into the back of Sam's legs.

"Why'd you stop?" he asked but Sam didn't respond. Instead, his eyes were fixed down the road. When Pyro looked, he could see the figure of another human getting bigger and more defined as it got closer.

"Hey, I challenge you to a trainer's battle!" he yelled at them once he was twenty feet away. The kid was around Sam's age, maybe a little older and a bit taller too. He had spiky blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Around his waist, a belt held three shiny Pokéballs.

"You want to fight?" Sam responded, causing Pyro to smack his face with his palm.

"Of course I want to fight! Don't you know what a battle is?" he scolded. Sam looked down at Pyro and then back at the trainer.

"Sure, we'll fight," he said, and then just to Pyro, "you ready?"

"Oh yeah," the Charmander smirked, "this is gonna be fun."

He paced in front to face the trainer. Something was wrong though. The kid was smiling like he had already won. He picked a Pokéball off his belt and threw it.

"I choose you, Marshtomp!" he cried and the Pokéball opened to reveal a blue Pokémon with fins all over its body. Both of them swore when they realized that it was a water type. Pyro glanced back at Sam.

"What do I do?" he asked, concern replacing the cockiness in his eyes. Sam started to sweat. Not only did the Marshtomp have an advantage over the Charmander, it was also a lot more experienced since it had evolved already.

"Get in close and try to use Scratch," Sam suggested, for a lack of a better plan. Pyro sighed, already concluding that he was going to lose this battle. He charged the Marshtomp and hoped that he could land at least one hit.

"Water Gun!" the trainer yelled and his Pokémon launched a stream of water that struck Pyro in mid-stride. The force of the attack sent him flying back towards Sam in a heap. He struggled back to his feet. Sam said Scratch again and Pyro repeated the failed attempt. Once again, he was blasted back.

Sam looked desperately around for some advantage he could give his Pokémon. His eyes came to rest on a large piece of bark on the side of the road.

"Stay here and dodge," he ordered Pyro. The Charmander watched him run to away and barely dodged another jet of water. Same grabbed the slab of bark off the ground, "Pyro, catch!" he yelled and tossed the block towards him. The fire type caught it with ease.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" he demanded after narrowly evading another blast of water.

"Use it as a shield to get closer to it," Sam explained. Pyro looked down at the bark and grinned. He held up the plank as the Marshtomp sprayed him and the water dispersed harmlessly across the surface.

"It's on now!" Pyro roared and charged the water type. He blocked its attacks with the slab shortened the distance between the two. However, he got to a point where the blasts kept him pushed him back slightly, making him unable to advance.

Sam noticed that in between attacks, there was about a second of rest. Pyro used this to move forward a bit but only got pushed back on the next blast. An idea came to mind.

"Throw the shield at it!" he ordered during a deluge. Pyro just stared at him but as soon as he felt the attack beginning to fade he understood. The moment that the water stopped, he grabbed hold of one side with both hands and tossed the bark at the Marshtomp's face. It stunned his opponent, allowing the bigger Pokémon to get within striking range.

"Payback time," Pyro growled and scratched his foe with his claws. The water type fell on impact and the Charmander pinned it down, continuing to swipe it across the face.

It looked like Pyro might actually win until he missed a hit. The water type recovered in that small window of time and hit the Charmander with a powerful jet of water that sent him flying. Pyro managed to get to his feet and glare at the Marstomp, who was equally battered. As one, they both collapsed to the dirt, shocking both of the humans.

"Never seen that before," the trainer mumbled and returned his fainted Marshtomp to its Pokéball, "Your Charmander is really strong," he commented, "how long have you been training him for?"

"I got him yesterday," Sam told the trainer before adding, "and I'm not a trainer."

"That's a lie. There's no way you just got him."

"Oh yeah?" Sam asked, crossing his arms, "Explain."

The trainer cracked his fingers and started a rant, "well first, it's a Charmander. That species is native to Kanto only, with some occasionally found in Johto. They're basically impossible to find anywhere else, so you must have gotten it as a starter in Kanto. That means that you've had him for a lot longer than yesterday to travel to Hoenn. Secondly, my water type has evolved into its second stage, which makes it a lot more powerful. However, it just lost to your fire type. If you just got it, you couldn't have trained it much and it would have evolved by now at the size and strength it's currently at."

"Okay, I get it, you're smart," Sam cut him off before he could resume, "but I wasn't lying. I just came from Littleroot and Professor Birch gave me him. The only reason why I have a Pokémon is for protection for a job I'm doing."

The trainer was confused and stopped talking, so Sam took this as an opportunity to pick up the fainted Pyro and carry him over his shoulder. He started to walk north again when the trainer caught up to him.

"I didn't catch your name," he said and stuck out his hand, "my name is Daren. What's yours?"

"I'm Sam," he said and accepted the handshake. He pointed to the Charmander, "this is Pyro."

"You name your Pokémon? That's odd..."

"Why, you don't name yours?"

"Nah, too much difficulty thinking up good names, but Pyro seems suitable for a fire type."

"I didn't think of it, he told me his name," Daren looked at him quizzically.

"What do you mean he told you his name?" he asked curiously. Sam didn't quite trust him yet to tell him his secret.

"Don't worry about it," he said a little too quickly and changed subjects, "why are you heading back north? Weren't you travelling to Littleroot?"

"I was only going there because Birch offered me the delivery job," he chuckled, "seems like you got it already, so not much point of me going there. Why did you need protection anyways, it's not like the job is too hard."

Sam removed his hat, removing the shadows that covered his scars. When Daren saw them, he recoiled instantly, horrified by them.

"What the hell happened?" he exclaimed at the sight. Sam's face darkened a bit but he told him everything, the attack, the healing process and the job itself. The Masterball was left out because Sam wasn't going to trust this guy with that information just yet. Daren was quiet for a long time, the only sound coming from their footsteps.

"Are you sure it was Team Rocket?" Daren asked, "I mean, you don't usually see them around Hoenn, they're more Kanto and Johto based. Team Magma or Aqua seems more likely."

"That's what I thought too," Sam said, "but Magma and Aqua are just eco-terrorists. One wants to expand land mass and the other wants to expand the seas. Neither actually does anything, it's always been Rocket that goes to the extremes."

Daren let out a long whistle, "that must be one hell of a valuable package," he commented absentmindedly, "Team Rocket must really want it if they would come out so far. You'll have to be careful, anyone could be a spy."

Their walk fell into silence again. Sam adjusted his pace so he was a little farther away from the trainer. Daren seemed to realize that what he said sounded a little menacing, "I didn't mean that I would want to steal it," he said, quickly trying to fix it, "Birch was thinking of giving me the job also. Plus, I have had an unpleasant run in with Team Rocket. Not as bad as yours, of course, but it's not something I want to repeat anytime soon."

Their walk fell into silence again and after a while, Sam said, "You know, my mom gave me a lot of extra money," he staring down at his feet, "I don't need all of it and I can probably buy something expensive with the extra money. It might just be enough for a spare ticket on the S.S Anne."

"What are you getting at?"

"Well, I'm not that good at handling Pokémon and quite frankly, you are experienced. So maybe you want to join me on the trip, give me a few tips? Pyro's a good partner and all but he might not be so helpful if we come across a larger water type."

"Okay, I see what you want. Yes, I will join you for this trip. I've got nothing else better to do."

They both grinned as Oldale Town came into view. For Sam, gaining a human companion would make this trip so much more bearable.


	6. Side Effects

The splatter of vomit against pavement nearly made Daren himself throw up. He had no idea what triggered it. They were walking through Oldale looking for the motel when Sam just leaned over and puked.

"Dude, that is nasty," Pyro said, covering his nose with a single paw, "seriously, I think the smell alone could make me do the same."

"Shut up Pyro, you're not making it any better," Sam groaned and was struck by another wave of nausea. The Charmander flinched as the next wave splashed against the ground. He had been awake for only a few minutes before Sam became sick.

"Are you done?" Daren inquired, standing a safe distance away on the road, "or are you going to continue?"

"I think I'm done," Sam said and spat out a glob of vomit. He repeated the same motion, trying to get the acidic taste out of his mouth, "ugh... the nausea just came out of nowhere."

"It's done now, so let's go find a place to stay for the night," Daren suggested, waiting along the road, "maybe even get a bite to eat," Sam eyes shot open at the mention of food and he threw up again, "okay... scratch the food."

Pyro maneuvered his way around the small puddle. The fluid was clear and thick. Sam was just puking up stomach acid at this point. Whatever got him sick should have been cleared from his system by this point.

Oldale was larger than Littleroot but still a fairly small town. After ten minutes of searching, the group found the motel and rented a single room. It was getting dark outside and Daren left Sam in the room while he went in search of food. Sam was okay with this as a painful headache had started to build, making him even dizzier.

"You want me to get a bucket?" Pyro asked. Sam cracked an eye open at the Charmander, not sure if he was joking or being sincere, "no, seriously, you look like crap. I would prefer if you had a something to hurl in and not get that stuff on me."

"Gee, you are so concerned about me," Sam mumbled with a little sarcasm, "yeah, go get one. I don't want to be responsible for cleaning it out of the carpet."

Pyro left the room, his height allowing for him to open the door easily. As he left, Daren entered watching the Charmander with interest. He turned to Sam, "where's Pyro going?"

"Bucket," Sam only needed that one word to convey his message.

"Still feeling sick?" Daren asked and Sam grunted a yes, "I guess that means more food for us," Pyro re-entered the room, holding a plastic bucket. He plopped it down next to Sam's bed and sniffed curiously, "heh, I think your Charmander might be a little hungry himself."

"Yeah, I am," Pyro said as his stomach grumbled. All Daren heard was 'Char-Charmander' but he got the message. He tossed Pyro a chicken drumstick from across the room and the fire type caught it in his mouth. He crushed the bone easily with his jaws and swallowed the chicken in one gulp.

"Sam, I think you need to feed your Pokémon more often," Daren laughed, "Pyro acts like he hasn't eaten in ages. Right? Sam?"

Sam wasn't listening. Having received barely any sleep from the night before, the weariness of two days and sickness got the better of him. He snored lightly on his bed, one hand hanging over the side and his face against the pillow.

"Ah, we should probably get to bed also," Daren said and finished his meal quickly. He turned off the lights but the room remained fairly dim because of Pyro's tail flame. The Charmander curled into a ball on the floor and Daren crawled under the covers of the other bed. Soon, both of them were fast asleep.

* * *

"What do you mean the bridge is out? I used it three days ago!"

"Sorry kid, but an accident made it unfit for pedestrian travel. Just take the long route."

Daren groaned in frustration but turned away. Sam was also upset with the turn of events. That bridge would take them right across the lake to Slateport. Now they had to go all the way around the lake and through multiple routes and cities. All that extra travelling would make for a really hard time of catching the ship before it left.

"Come on, Daren," Sam said softly, "we don't have much time to waste any more. Let's get going."

"I know," he mumbled, "I just really wanted to get to Mauville. They have an awesome arcade there."

"How long do you think it would take for the long way?" Sam asked. Daren looked up, running some mental calculations.

"If we take the paved roads, we can get to Mauville in a week," he finally said but Sam was skeptical.

"Are you sure?" he asked, "It takes months for trainers to get that far, how can we only do it in a week?"

"Trainers aren't the only ones that use those roads," Daren answered, "people who don't have Pokémon need safer paths. The government built the designated paths for civilian use but if you want to train, you can take the old trails. The paved roads are just easier to travel on."

"We have tons of time then," Pyro said from the back, "how 'bout we use some of it to train, right Sam?"

"I guess, if you want to," Sam mumbled, not liking the idea all that much. He turned to Daren, "Pyro wants to train. Why don't you let out your Pokémon, let them get acquainted with us."

"Fine by me, they don't get to meet many friendly Pokémon," Daren said and released all three of his Pokémon at once. The light faded and three shapes emerged. The first one Sam recognized was the Marshtomp, eying Pyro with confusion. The other two were a Mightyena and a Shelgon. He eyed Daren's Pokémon with a little envy.

"From what I've heard, Shelgon are rare," Sam commented, "How'd you manage to catch one?"

"Same way you catch any other Pokémon," Daren said, looking back at his Pokémon with pride, "found him in Meteor Falls as Bagon, caught him and trained him up to a Shelgon."

"Cool," Sam said simply and stayed silent. Their Pokémon had started up a conversation and he began to eavesdrop on them.

"Why are we travelling with you?" the, Marshtomp asked coldly, "Don't we have better things to do than travel with some kid?"

"I dunno, maybe Daren thought he could learn something from us," Pyro said snidely, "you know, 'cause I kicked your ass."

"Whoa, Marla, you lost to this scrub?" the Shelgon exclaimed, "Your game is slipping."

"I didn't lose, Draco, it was a tie," Marla the Marshtomp said, trying to preserve her dignity, "we both fainted. Plus, this guy used a piece of wood to fight, blocking my attacks and even using it as a weapon. A trainer can't use those tactics in a fight."

"Yeah, but you tied to a fire type," the Mightyena said in a mocking tone, "you got type advantage and experience over this chump. That fight should've been a blowout."

"Callum, shut your mouth," Marla snapped, "I was tired from previous battles. Unlike you two, I didn't get the luxury of chilling in my Pokéball."

"Excuses, excuses..." Pyro mumbled, aggravating the water type.

"I can take you any day of the week," she growled, jabbing her webbed finger into Pyro's face, "you holler and I'm down to fight."

"Nah, I think I don't think I need to fight you again to continue being the champ," Pyro raised his claws above his hand, stretching his small arms. Marla called him some swears and Pyro replied with his own choice curses. Soon enough, the four were in a shouting match. Sam and Daren looked back at their Pokémon. To Daren, all he could hear was a cluster of their names but Sam heard every word.

"Pyro, shut up and stop bothering Marla," Sam snapped and all four Pokémon became quiet, "don't piss her off, she can beat you right now if she really wanted."

"Come on, Sam, you gotta back me up on these things," Pyro complained and Marla hit him on the side of the head.

"Yeah Pyro, listen to your trainer," she chided. The Charmander's eye twitched but he kept his cool.

"Who's Marla?" Daren asked Sam, losing interest in his Pokémon's squabble. Sam's face turned pale. He had used the Marshtomp's real name and had forgotten that Daren had no idea what his Pokémon's names were.

"It's you Marshtomp's name," Sam said, deciding to go with what had happened. It might be easier to tell the truth in this case. Daren looked at his companion with suspicion.

"How do you know it's name?" he asked slowly. Sam realized he made a mistake telling the truth and now he had to choose his words carefully. He didn't want Daren to know about his powers just yet.

"Well, I just know Pokémon names," he said, going with one weak lie, "I don't know how, so don't ask me anymore."

"Okay, if you know Pokémon names, then what are the others' names?"

"Your Shegon's name is Draco and the Mightyena is Callum," Sam answered quickly. At the sound of their names, Daren's Pokémon looked up, staring in confusion at Sam.

"Are those your names, guys?" Daren asked his team and they all nodded slowly, "Huh, well that's embarrassing. I didn't even know Marsh- I mean Marla was a girl."

"Well now you know," Sam sighed, relieved that he dodged that bullet. The Pokémon, however, were not convinced. They rounded on Pyro.

"How does your trainer know our names," Callum growled, "even Daren didn't know them, only us and you."

"You better start answering, bub," Draco said. The three Pokémon blocked the Charmander from view of their trainers. Pyro kept his distance from them but the farther he got from the trio, the farther he got from Sam.

"Look, guys, I don't know how to say this but-" he began.

"Spit it out!" Marla yelled, causing Pyro to flinch.

"We don't know exactly how it happened but since Sam got the concussion he could understand Pokémon!" he blurted out in a panic.

"Bullcrap, no human can understand Pokémon," Callum snarled and advanced on Pyro. He lost his cool attitude.

"Sam, turn around!" he yelled for his trainer, "Come on, do something! Anything! Just make them believe that you can understand what I'm saying!"

The human slowly turned towards them and looked Pyro right in the eye. The Charmander was surprised to see anger in them. He guessed it was probably from revealing his biggest secret to unfamiliar Pokémon but despite that, he gave a quick nod and turned his attention elsewhere. Draco snorted loudly.

"I ain't buying it," he said, "let's just whoop this guy's ass 'til we get the truth from him."

"That is the truth, I swear!" Pyro exclaimed. Sweat trickled down his forehead. There was no way he could take all three of them in a fight if they attacked. To his surprise, it was Marla that defended him.

"Guys, drop it," she said sternly, "if the human can understand Pokémon then maybe we shouldn't talk about beating his partner senseless when he can clearly hear us."

Her teammates mumbled an agreement under their breath, accepting the orders of Daren's most senior partner. Pyro mouthed a thank you to her but the Marshtomp didn't react to it. Either she didn't see it or she was ignoring him.

In front, Sam sighed in relief. Of course, he had been listening and really thought that they could have had a serious incident. The sigh had just ended when his brain exploded. It didn't really explode but to Sam, it might as well have. Needles felt like they were trying to burst out of his skull from inside the right side of his brain. The world spun and his legs gave way. Fortunately, Daren had quick enough reflexes to grab his arm and keep him up. Just as suddenly as it happened, he pain faded away and Sam's sight returned to normal.

"What was that?" Daren asked once Sam seemed to recover.

"I got no idea," Sam mumbled and shook his head lightly before continuing, "one second I was fine then it felt like my head was going to split open."

"Are you good now?"

"Yeah, I think so. Thanks for the save."

"No problem," Daren responded and he decided to keep a close eye on Sam from there on in case it should happen again. From the back, Pyro watched with concern. He had a feeling he knew what was wrong with his trainer. Someone smacked his arm lightly.

"Does your trainer do that a lot?" Marla whispered, "Like, should we be worried when he does that?"

"I haven't known him for that long but I'm quite sure that humans don't do that normally," Pyro answered back in an equal voice level, "I think it might have something to do with the concussion."

"You mean the same one that gave him the ability to talk with Pokémon?" Callum asked from behind. Pyro nodded and was about to go into a deeper explanation when a high pitched shriek like a battle cry came from the woods. Something hit him hard from the side and the suddenness of the blow knocked him over into the dirt. He looked up to see a Wurmple at the edge of the path, grinning mischievously at him. It sprayed silk in his face and ran off into the forest.

"You aren't getting away from me that easily!" Pyro roared. He tore the silk off his face and pursued after the bug Pokémon. Sam turned at the sound of the commotion just in time to see the Charmander enter the woods.

"Pyro, wait!" he yelled and started to run after his Pokémon. He stopped and turned back to Daren he started in a stunned silence on the road, "Wait here until I get back," Sam told him and resumed to chase after Pyro.

The Charmander wasn't that fast but he had a head start on his trainer. He crashed through the underbrush, his eyes locked on the Wurmple just ahead of him. In front, patches of sunlight broke through the leaves and soon they burst into the middle of a small clearing. The bug-type stood alone at the far edge of the clearing. If Pyro had been paying attention, he would have noticed a disturbing smile on the Wurmple's face.

"What makes you think you could tackle me and run off unscathed?" Pyro demanded fiercely, stopping into the centre. The bug chuckled softly, enraging the Charmander further, "you're going to pay for that."

"I don't think I'm going to pay for anything," it said softly, its amusement clear in its voice, "As a matter of fact, I think you'd be the one who'll be paying."

"I'm going to squash you like the bug you are," Pyro growled and stepped forward again in hopes of intimidating the smaller Pokémon. However, it didn't even flinch but instead gave a small laugh.

"You may be able to squash me but I hardly think you'd be able to get all of us," it said. Pyro was confused but the bushes behind him rustled and he turned around. He sighed when he saw it was only Sam, who had just caught up. If Sam hadn't come barging in though, Pyro never would have noticed the other Pokémon in the shadows. Dozens of Wurmple, Cascoon and other bug Pokémon hung from the branches of trees.

"Oh, this is not good," Sam mumbled, staring at all the Pokémon. Pyro wasn't all that worried, they were just bug Pokémon after all.

"Don't worry, Sam, I got this," Pyro said, trying to reassure his trainer.

"Boys, get rid of this pesky Charmander first," the Wurmple said. It was becoming clearer that he must have been their leader, "the human will be easy."

"You ain't getting any of us," Pyro growled, confident that he could take them. The leader gave a horribly evil smile for such a small Pokémon.

"Get them," he snarled and as one, the bugs from the trees attacked. The masses of Wurmple rushed Pyro but the few Beautifly and Dustox that were in the ranks got to him first. He batted the first few away but it wasn't long until they started to land hits. After the first one connected, more started to hit him. The Wurmple joined in and soon, Pyro was swamped by the bug-types. Each one he scratched down was replaced by another.

He couldn't hold them off but he wasn't prepared to go down just yet. A burning sensation rose in his chest and he released it, sending out a fireball that took down three of the Wurmple. Knowing how to use a fire attack, he began to lob fireballs everywhere, missing as many times as he hit one. His Ember attacks that missed flew into the forest, causing the underbrush to burst into flames.

Sam just watched, impressed at how the tide of the battle had changed so fast. He regretted thinking that almost instantly. He noticed from the sidelines that the bug Pokémon were beginning to keep their distance from Pyro. The Charmander however, did not see this because he was too busy using his new attack. They were preparing for something big but Sam had no idea what it was.

"Time to use the Cocoon Tactic!" the leader cried to answer Sam's thoughts. The Pokémon circling Pyro and even the immobile ones in the trees started spitting out silk. The white thread covered the Charmander. At first, the bug attack didn't hinder him. Then the silk got into his eyes, which blinded him. He tried to remove it but it had hardened and was stuck to his face like glue. More silk started to cover him and harden, making his movements slower and slower.

Sam felt useless, standing there unable to help. The memory of Team Rocket ganging up on him came to his eyes and he realized something. Just because his Pokémon was fighting didn't mean he couldn't do anything. He could fight. He ran into the fray, knocking aside a group of Wurmple. Bug Pokémon fell as he swung his fists and legs in a wild frenzy.

"Leave the Charmander and attack the boy, you fools!" the ordered and his followers obeyed. Sam barely heard the command and nearly fell when he was struck in the ribs. The next blow was to the head and the world spun as he landed hard on the ground. Pain ripped though his brain but even on the verge of a blackout, Sam struggled to his feet. As he got up, another blow from a Dustox sent him flying into the woods. The rough landing knocked the wind from his lungs.

Sam lay on his back, fighting for breath and consciousness as he struggled to find a way out. His forehead seared in pain and Sam felt something warm flowing from one of his scars. He tried to call for help, to get Daren's attention on the road but his mouth couldn't form the words. Around him, the forest burning and Pyro was helpless in an ever growing cocoon of silk. When they were done with the Charmander, they would most surely finish him off.

The fire roaring around him must have sparked something within him. No, he was not going to let Pyro die at the hands of bug Pokémon. That was not how they were going out. Sam's hand started to grope around behind him and his hands wrapped around a tree branch about two inches thick. Using it as a crutch, he forced himself into a standing position. He looked around the clearing, his eyes searching for the leader. It was literally jumping in excitement on the edge of clearing, closer to Sam than he was to his minions.

With a battle cry, Sam charged the unaware Wurmple, his stick raised above his head. It turned around just in time to see the human swing the club down on the tiny bug's head. With the leader out for the count and probably dead, Sam then proceeded to charge the group attacking Pyro. Solely dependent on their leader for instructions, the bug Pokémon fell into disarray as Sam decimated their numbers. After seeing many of their comrades fall, the ones who hadn't been struck down fled the battle, leaving their injured behind.

Sam was oblivious to the retreating foes and had already cast aside his weapon. He kneeled by Pyro, frantically trying to remove the hardened silk. The stuff was hard as concrete, and no amount of tugging would remove it.

Panic rose in Sam's chest. The only part of the Charmander's body that was free of silk was the tip of his tail, where the flame that represented his life burned feebly. The silk around the small fire was sticky and loose. An idea came to Sam's mind and he grabbed the fire-type's tail. It was stiffened by the rigid silk but he forced the tip to the back of Pyro's head. The flame instantly started to melt his cocoon and Sam kept the flame there until he saw the orange colour of the Charmander's skin. Using that opening, Sam began to pry open the silk until the shell cracked right down the middle, freeing Pyro.

The fire-type removed himself from the confines of the silk, bruised and battered, but alive. Then he did something that surprised both of them. He gave Sam a big hug and the human didn't know what to do, so he just hugged the smaller Pokémon back.

"What the hell happened here?" someone yelled from behind them. Sam turned to see that Daren had joined them with his three Pokémon. For Daren, it was quite a sight. The clearing was on fire, bodies were strewn everywhere, Sam's face was a bloody mess and the Charmander that he believed to be fiercely independent was giving his trainer a bear-hug. It was a lot to take in at once but he regained his composure and ordered Marla to put out the fires as he ran over to Sam.

"We saw the smoke coming from the woods," Daren said as he crouched next to Sam, "We rushed to see what was going on."

"It was a trap," Sam answered in a weak mumble, "they lured Pyro in here for an ambush. Why they did it, I have no idea."

"Maybe they did it for food?" Daren suggested but his Pokémon shot that idea down.

"Nah, this gang wasn't fighting for food," Draco said, observing the carnage around them, "they were fighting for experience. Ganging up to take down a larger foe doesn't do much once or twice but do it enough times and the whole group benefits."

Even though Daren couldn't understand their words, he knew enough from their tones to understand what he said was wrong. He looked back at Sam's face, specifically at his forehead which was pouring blood.

"Don't mean to freak you out or anything, but I think one of scars tore open," Daren told him and Sam instinctively reached for his face.

"Yeah, that was my guess too," he said after his hand came away covered in the crimson liquid, "We should probably get to Petalburg fast, shouldn't we?"

Daren helped Sam to his feet once Pyro let go and Sam nearly fell again when a sudden wave of nausea hit. He would have thrown up if he had eaten anything since breakfast. He ended up having to lean against Daren's shoulder for support.

Marla extinguished the fires and rejoined them, questioning Pyro on what happened. Although he wasn't too keen on recounting the events, he told the three Pokémon what happened. Thankfully, they didn't make fun of him for losing to bug-types and remained silent.

Once they made it back on the path, Sam got off of Daren's shoulder to see if he could walk on his own. He was able and walked unassisted as they headed west for Petalburg. The farther they walked however, they heavier his legs seemed to feel. His eyes began to droop and he fought the strong urge to fall asleep. He couldn't fight it for long and his steps began to falter. He tripped and his vision was overcome by darkness as he slipped into unconsciousness.


	7. Naomi

Officer Jenny sat on her police issued motorcycle, sipping coffee out of a Styrofoam cup. The streets of Petalburg City were calm today. Not much was wrong in the town and she caught up on some much needed relaxation on the job. She had just finished her coffee when an odd sight caught her eye.

It was too far away to make out any proper shape but from her view, the shadowy figure resembled a Ponyta galloping backwards. She was sure that it definitely wasn't what she thought because Ponyta don't run backwards and it was lacking the flaming mane. As it got closer, Jenny thought she saw two figures running together, the front one's head tucked into the other's chest. Even that didn't make any sense and made the bored officer even more intrigued. They got closer and closer until she could see exactly what this mystery figure was. Her eyes widened and hand loosened, making her let go of the coffee. She didn't react to the cup hitting the ground and spilling its contents.

Running down the street was not one, not two, but three figures. A human and a Pokémon, which she recognized as a Shelgon, were carrying a second human together while sprinting madly. The boy being carried was being supported by a blond haired boy by his arms and his legs rested on the Shelgon's back.

"Draco, we need to move faster!" the boy at the back yelled in a strained voice, "Sam has lost too much blood, we need to get to the hospital as fast as possible!"

The Shelgon, Draco she assumed, responded but only repeats of his name were understood. Jenny wondered what they meant by 'lost too much blood' and took a closer look at the unconscious boy. How she did not notice the severity of the situation right away eluded her as the boy's face was covered in blood and his shirt stained a deep crimson.

The lights on the motorcycle flared up as the engine roared to life. The officer sped off, leaving the now empty cup in the dust as she rushed to the kids.

"What happened here?" she called out, her voice barely audible over the engine's roar. Despite the noise, the blond looked up, relief washing over his face.

"He got into a fight with some Pokémon," he explained, his breath coming in short gasps, "his scar was open when I found him. He was conscious after the fight but as soon as we hit the road, he just passed out."

Officer Jenny bit her lip as she looked down at the unconscious boy. His scars hadn't healed yet, indicating that he received them a few weeks ago. They were pink and puffy which may have been the reason why one tore open like his friend said.

"We need to get him to the hospital immediately," she told the boy, "I'll take him straight there on my bike. You can meet him there."

"Are you sure you can support him?" the boy asked, handing Sam's limp body over to the officer, "You'll have to make sure he doesn't fall off and control the bike. Think you can do that?"

"I wish I could say that this was my first time doing this," Jenny said and placed Sam in between her and the handlebars, "luckily for your friend, it isn't. Anything else I should know?"

"Um... yeah, hold on," the boy said and rummaged through his pockets. When he pulled his fist out, he handed Jenny a Pokéball, "That's his Charmander, Pyro. He was pretty beat up in the fight too."

Jenny nodded and sped off, Sam's head flopping back and forth as she raced down the city streets. She prayed that she could get Sam medical treatment before it was too late.

* * *

A chatter of quiet voices slowly roused him from a slumber. Their words were indistinct and the topic of the conversation was unknown. As he became more conscious, his ears picked up more sounds. An electronic beeping coming from his right, the hum of machines, footsteps padding down an unseen hallway. He was all too aware of a painful throbbing in his head.

This all seemed very familiar and he slowly opened his eyes to get a look at his surroundings. He was covered in white sheets in a room where the walls were painted a dull yellow. At the foot of his bed he could see the people he heard talking, both of them young women. One was dressed in blue, a uniform he pinned to the police department. The other had flaming red hair and dressed in attire that matched his bed sheets. He determined that she must be a nurse.

"...lucky to be alive," he heard the nurse say as he regained his knowledge of speech, "He was released from the Littleroot hospital barely a week ago. His concussion didn't have sufficient amount of time to heal and I fear this incident may have made it worse."

"I'm not doctor but I think he'll pull through," the officer said, "his friend said that he managed to walk for a bit before collapsing."

"He's a trooper, I'll give him that," the nurse looked over at him as she said this and noticed that he was awake, "looks like he regained consciousness. You go get his friends from the waiting room and I'll do a quick checkup."

The officer nodded and left the room through sliding glass doors while the nurse sat down next to his bed.

"Do you know who you are?" she asked slowly. His brain took longer than usual to register the words but he understood what they meant and nodded, "Can you recount the details of what has happened recently?"

"I'm Sam Crenshaw, from Littleroot," he began, finding it hard to form that simple sentence. The nurse nodded and asked him to continue, "I received these scars from a fight, suffered massive head trauma and now I'm on a delivery job to Kanto."

"Is that it?" she asked with a slight frown. When Sam nodded, her brow furrowed deeper, "Do you know where we are?"

"Sure, we're in a hospital."

"No, more general. Which town are we in?"

Sam's face contorted in confusion. He responded with a question, "Oldale?"

"Petalburg," the nurse sighed and scribbled something on a notepad, "you've forgotten a whole day of travels. You left Oldale last morning and got into a fight with a group of bug Pokémon. Do you remember any of this?"

Sam squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to force the memories to the surface. When he tried to remember what had happened after the motel, he was met with a haze. Fragments of the day drifted through his mind. The Pokémon's names, the bridge being out and a few splinters of the fight were the only things he could remember.

"Barely," Sam grumbled, "what does this mean?"

"Memory loss can be expected with concussions," the nurse said and took out a small flashlight after she wrote some more things down. She told him to follow the light and keep his head still. The light hurt his eyes but he obeyed while she talked, "I'm just going to do a few more tests, see the extent of the injury."

True to her word, she preformed three more tests on him and when she was done she left the room to examine the results. Sam barely had time by himself when the door burst open again. He looked up and saw Daren and their Pokémon rushing in.

"You just love hospitals, don't you?" Pyro said and jumped onto the bed, "we can't keep you away from them."

Sam knew the Charmander was making fun of him but smiled weakly, knowing it was in good humour. His Pokémon proceeded to rest his head against the human's legs.

"How you feeling?" Daren asked as he took a seat on a chair by the bed. His Pokémon sat around him. A low groan escaped from Sam's mouth as he let his head fall back into the pillow.

"It feels like someone is trying to carve out the inside of my head with a dull knife," he muttered while rubbing his temples in hopes of diminishing the pain. It helped but not much and Sam stopped the motion after a minute. He shifted his leg so Pyro would have a more comfortable position to rest on. The door whooshed open and the nurse re-entered the room, a smaller version of herself following close behind her.

"Sam you results are back in," she began and despite his tiredness, Sam shot upwards, "the trauma you received to you head has indeed worsened your condition. It is recommended that you stay in the hospital until your injury has fully healed."

"I can't do that!" Sam exclaimed, knocking Pyro off the bed by accident. After some choice swears from the Pokémon and a quick apology, he continued, "If I stay here then I miss the boat to Kanto. There's only a month and a half left of summer break so I have to leave or miss the first month of school."

"I thought you'd say that," to both trainers' surprise, the nurse smiled. She stepped to the side and gave them a better look at the younger girl, "this is Naomi, my niece, who's aspiring to become both a human and a Pokémon doctor. If you choose to go, she will accompany you to make sure that you're in good condition. I'll leave you three to get acquainted batter."

The nurse left the room again and Naomi shifted uneasily on her feet. Daren broke the uncomfortable silence that followed with a sharp cough.

"So, Naomi, why are you training to be both kinds of a doctor?" he asked, trying to make the awkward girl feel less out of place, "isn't that a lot harder than choosing just one profession?"

"I did it because I want to help people but Pokémon are just so fascinating to me," she said, averting eye contact at the start but she began to focus on Sam. She scratched her head, unsure how to say the next part without accidentally sounding offensive. She decided just to say what was on her mind, "look, I want to help Sam get better but it wasn't the only reason why I asked to join you."

"You asked to join us?" Sam asked becoming slightly confused, his damaged brain having significant trouble with understanding, "What was the other reason?"

"You might already know this but your Charmander is huge," she told him, "he's a full foot taller than normal at his first evolution. As he grows and evolves, who knows how big he will be when he becomes a Charizard."

"Heh, and they say girls don't care about size," Pyro chuckled, leaning against the bed. Unfortunately for him, he was standing too close and Sam gave him a sharp smack to the back of the head and a scold. The fire-type waved it off like it was nothing but Naomi gave a gasp of shock at Sam's abusive behavior.

"He deserved it for what he said," Sam explained quickly, noticing the girl's surprise. Before she could respond, he changed the topic back to the original, "so you're joining us because of Pyro?"

"Yes, I want to document his growth. For all I know, he might just be the largest of his species that we know of and I want to make sure that someone is there to take note of it. That doesn't bother you, does it?"

"Of course not, that's awesome!" Daren exclaimed, answering for both of them, "It'd be great to have some company. Sure, you can come, as long as Sam okay with it."

All eyes in the room turned to Sam, even those that belonged to the Pokémon. Both Daren and Naomi had the faintest look of pleading in their eyes. Sam didn't want Naomi to come along that much because it would be just one more person and an unknown number of Pokémon he would have to keep his secrets from. Put on the spot and not wanting to seem like a jerk, he said okay and both Naomi and Daren cheered.

"Thank you so much. You won't regret this, I promise," Naomi said, her face joyful, "I just need to get some supplies and my Pokémon. We can leave as soon as we get back."

She rushed out of the room in excitement, leaving Sam and Daren in completely different moods. Daren seemed really excited by this turn of events. Sam was grim about having to keep the Masterball hidden from two humans and he was worried how they would react if they found out about his ability. Would they be repulsed, fascinated or would they just not care? He didn't know what his future held but already he was dreading it.


	8. Swimmin' Blind

"So, what now? Do we just leave it here or should we try to get it back to Petalburg?"

"It'll be fine. This is how battles go with wild Pokémon. Just leave it and let's go."

"But we just beat it until it fainted! How can you just say it'll be fine?"

Daren laughed silently at Sam and Naomi's fight. Sam still hadn't grasped the concept of a wild Pokémon fight and was confused on why they would just leave an injured Pokémon in the wilderness.

"Sam, this is how a fight works in the wild," Naomi said, grabbing Sam by his shoulders, "you have to understand that after a fight, the Pokémon that lost will be okay."

"Are you sure?" Sam asked after a pause. Naomi nodded and Sam sighed, "Fine. Let's get going then."

The group left the fainted Pokémon on the side of the road. They had departed from Petalburg and had been walking for an hour when a wild Pokémon jumped out from the tall grass. It challenged them to a fight, which Pyro agreed to happily. The Charmander hung back with Marla, examining his claws for random pieces of dirt or blood.

"Don't go thinking you're so great now," Marla teased, "You've only won one battle against a fresh Pokémon."

"No, I beat a Poochyena before I faced you," Pyro said in retaliation to the Marshtomp's taunting, "and I knocked out the last one in one shot. Are you trying to tell me that counts for nothing?"

"I am, because that wild one was really weak," Marla said, grinning at Pyro's look of hate, "Quite honestly, if you hadn't knocked it out on one shot, I would feel embarrassed for you."

Pyro gave her a weak push in his response. Marla giggled a little, aggravating him further. She was screwing with him and the Charmander couldn't do anything about it because she could probably kick his ass. He looked at Sam, who was walking by himself in the middle of the group.

Sam wasn't paying attention to anything. He was lost in his own, depressing thoughts and was completely oblivious to anything around him. He wanted to get to Kanto to be done with this job but at the same time he wanted to help Pyro evolve. That was the only reason why he was allowing him to fight. Those battles were slowing them down for his goal but helping Pyro to his.

Up ahead, Daren and Naomi were having a hushed conversation. Their low voices were unheard by Sam but Pyro was keeping an ear on them.

"Is Sam always so glum?" Naomi asked Daren. The blond boy looked back at Sam, whose eyes were locked to the ground.

"I don't know," Daren said with a shrug, "I've barely known him longer than you have. Now, this is just a guess, but I think the concussion may have changed how he acts. Is that possible?"

"Unfortunately, yes, it does happen," Naomi turned away from Sam and placed her attention to the road ahead. She searched for spot where the road would bend to the right, "I'm not going to bore you with science behind it but when the brain is damaged it leaves behind some changes. Sometimes, everything about them will be altered and there is no definite way of knowing if they will ever be back to normal."

"Just so you know, I don't mean to sound like a jerk but I'm getting tired of Sam. He seems like he doesn't care about anything but I've seen enough to know that isn't true. The kid ran into a fight to protect the Charmander that he seems to hate. It's like he has two personalities; the bitter one that we're seeing now and the caring one that's hidden."

"I know what you're saying. If I were travelling alone with him, I'd get sick of him too."

Laughter could be heard coming from ahead. Naomi knew that a small beach was hidden behind a thin stretch of trees to the left. She assumed that's where the excitement was coming from. As they drew closer, she noticed that the laughter sounded more like taunts. What they were saying wasn't clear yet but the Pokémon were clearly affected.

Marla and Pyro were talking rapidly to each other. The humans in front couldn't understand a word they were saying. Before either of them could react, the two Pokémon ran off. Daren called for Marla to come back but she didn't acknowledge him. He reached for his Pokéball but was stopped when Sam grabbed his arm.

"What're you doing?" Daren demanded from the scarred boy, "I need to return my Pokémon and so should you."

"Something's going down from where those noises are coming from," Sam told him, "we should keep our Pokémon out for this because I don't think what's happening is good."

He then proceeded to pursue the Pokémon, leaving Daren and Naomi stunned. Naomi was the first to react and began to run after Sam, yanking Daren's arm to get him to follow. The voices became clearer and they could make out the voices of humans along with the slow and dumb sounds of Magikarp. It sounded like another day at the beach to Naomi and Daren. People were laughing and having fun while the occasional Magikarp flops uselessly on the sand.

However, unlike Sam, they could not hear what was actually happening. He didn't know why, but he could hear the Magikarp's voices better than the ones belonging to the humans. He didn't know much about Pokémon but he was sure of one thing; Pokémon don't normally cry out for help.

He saw their Pokémon turn onto a narrow path, which lead into the forest to the left. His feet pounded on the hard dirt, releasing small clouds of dust behind him. The forest ended onto a beach and Sam nearly tripped over Pyro because they had stopped when the tree line came to an end. His scars twisted painfully as his face contorted in rage at the sight before him. Daren and Naomi joined him soon after and were equally revolted.

"Oh, dude, that is messed up!" Daren exclaimed. Messed up was putting it lightly. A gang of humans were tormenting a group of defenceless Magikarp. You could tell they were a gang because they were all dressed in red hoodies with the same black logo on the front. They were stomping on the weak creatures, punching them and one was even using a stick to pound one. Sam stepped forward, planning on beating every single one of them, but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You can't help them," Naomi said in a soft voice, "I know you want to, but not in this state."

"So what do we do then?" Sam demanded, his voice filling with emotion, "we just sit here and watch those creatures get pounded? Better yet, how about we just walk away like this never happened?"

"She's saying you can't fight," Daren said, "but that doesn't mean our Pokémon can't."

Naomi saw the same hate burning in Daren's eyes that she saw in Sam's. Pyro and Marla were growling, waiting for their trainers' commands to fight. The two boys walked up to the gang.

"Who the hell do you think you are, treating Pokémon like that?" Sam yelled out in anger. The hooded figures stopped their thrashing of the Magikarp and turned towards them.

"We are Team Magma," one of them said, stepping out to the front. Sam assumed he was the leader of this group, "we strive to expand the earth's landmass. These pathetic Pokémon show how useless the beings of the water are, proving that they don't deserve to exist."

"People like you don't deserve to exist," Daren snapped and called out his other two Pokémon, "All Pokémon have the right to life and one group doesn't get to decide that for the rest of us."

"Poor, misguided child," the leader said. His tone alone made Sam want to punch him, "do you not understand that all important life lives on land? Humans need land or else we'd all die. Team Magma is doing humanity a favour."

"Guess what? We don't care," Sam told them. He looked at Daren, then to Pyro, "You ready?"

"Just give the word," the Charmander growled. Sam nodded to Daren to signal the attack. At once, the four Pokémon lunged at Team Magma, bowling them over. Sam wished he could join the fight but his friends were right. With the concussion, the risk of getting hurt further was really high. Their Pokémon seemed to be doing well enough without his help anyways.

Pyro was slashing like a mad man, leaving long, shallow cuts where ever his claws fell. Callum was battling two of the Pokémon the gang members managed to send out. They didn't stand a chance and the Mightyena quickly found a new opponent after savaging the previous two. Marla and Draco were working as a team, blasting away the members with their Water Gun and Dragon Breath attacks. A faint glow seemed to be surrounding the Marshtomp's body. Sam thought it was the sun reflecting off the water and found the sight to be hypnotising. The illusion was broken when a fist slammed into his gut.

"Stupid kid! You never interfere with Team Magma's work," the leader growled. Sam sank to his knees in pain and Daren rushed to his defence. He jumped on the leader's back but the larger man shrugged him off. He went to kick Sam in the face but the boy rolled out of the way, the foot missing his face by mere centimetres.

Sam got up and saw that the leader was now standing over Daren, preparing to stomp down on his the boy's face. Sam knew he would never make it in time but he ran at their assailant in hopes of tackling the man. He didn't need to do anything in the end because a powerful jet of water sent the man flying.

"What did you say again, that water Pokémon were inferior?" Marla roared as she rushed to her trainer's defence. Sam understood what the glowing was about. Marla had evolved from a Marshtomp into a Swampert in mid-battle. She blasted the leader again as he tried to get up, "try to get up again. I dare you."

The leader looked around and saw that they were losing, "Let's leave this pesky children, team, and get out of here," he ordered his gang. Team Magma called their battered Pokémon back and ran away, trying not to look like they were retreating. Sam wasn't watching the gang retreat. Instead, his attention was focussed on Daren, who had Marla in a tight embrace.

"I knew you were close to evolving!" Daren exclaimed. His smile was so wide it threatened to extend past his face, "All that work paid off!"

"I like that I evolved too, but it won't matter if you suffocate me," Marla managed in a breathless voice. Daren's hug was squeezing the air out of her. Daren got the message and let go of the Swampert. After being released, she sauntered over to Pyro and gave him a punch on the shoulder, "still think you can beat me now, cinder tail?"

Pyro scowled, "you just wait 'til I'm a Charmeleon, swamp breath, and then we'll see who's laughing."

Daren's other Pokémon went over to congratulate Marla. Sam didn't stay to watch and joined Naomi, who was trying to help all the injured Magikarp. She had an Abra with her, a Pokémon Sam didn't know she had. He crouched next to her.

"Are they all right?" he asked as she inspected one that was three feet long.

"From what I've seen, none have life threatening injuries," Naomi said, not taking her eyes off the Magikarp, "a few bruises but since they don't have bones there's not much to worry about."

Sam nodded and looked up at the sound of pained breathing, "you haven't checked all of them yet, have you?" he asked her. She shook her head and Sam stood up to find the source. He noticed a really small one which was barely a foot in length. It was whimpering, struggling feebly on the wet sand.

"Ow, my eyes, they hurt so much," it groaned in a really fast, male voice, "please make the pain go away. Please please please, they hurt so much!"

"Don't worry, I'm here to help," Sam said in a soothing voice, "do you think you can open your eyes so I can see what's wrong?"

With pained sobs, the Magikarp opened an eye. Sam's lungs seized at the sight of the injury, refusing to let any air in or out.

"Naomi, get over here now," Sam choked out when his breath returned, "and bring some potions."

"What's wrong?" she asked and crouched next to Sam. She asked the water Pokémon to open his eye again and the nurse-in-training recoiled at the sight, "Oh my... what happened to it?

Sam honestly didn't know. It would take one sick human being to inflict this injury upon a living creature. Blood streamed from the Magikarp's face, pouring out of his punctured eyes. Both of them had been stabbed by something sharp and the sight of the wound wanted to make Sam throw up.

"Get a hyper potion from my bag," Naomi ordered and Sam reached for her bag. A yellow bottle hovered next to him and floated into her hand. Sam looked up to see the Abra using its psychic powers to manipulate the object, "thanks Animus. Sam, I need you to hold it still while I apply the potion. Magikarp, I need you to hold your eyes open. This will hurt but it will feel better after, I promise."

The Magikarp whimpered an okay and Sam held his small body tight. It seemed that keeping his eyes open was extremely painful for him and when Naomi applied the potion, he writhed in agony. Even though it seemed to hurt him horribly, the Magikarp pulled through the ordeal. The potion worked fast, closing the wounds at a steady pace.

"Thank you so much, it feels so much better! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he squealed in his rapid speech. He wriggled in delight and Sam cracked a smile at the Magikarp's joy. He turned to see the rest of his companions placing the other Magikarp back into the water. Sam did the same and once it was in the ocean, it swam happily. He zigzagged in the water before rejoining his group. Sam watched them for a minute before Daren nudged him with an elbow.

"Do you want to stay for a bit longer or should we continue?" he asked Sam. Sam took one last look at the Magikarp before heading towards the path. According to Naomi, it would lead them straight to Petalburg Woods along the seashore. The Pokémon were in the lead, still marvelling over Marla's new size.

"Do you think it'll heal?" Sam asked Naomi, careful of his use of pronouns.

"I can't be sure with eye injuries," Naomi said with a depressed sigh, "the cuts were deep so it may never regain its eyesight completely."

Sam was saddened slightly by this news. He had helped someone to the best of his abilities and yet it still may have not been enough. Pyro slowed down a little so he could walk next to Sam. His trainer surprised him by scratching his head affectionately.

"You did good out there," Sam said and looked down at the Charmander with a grin. Pyro knew that with those scars it hurt to smile that widely. Daren was right about Sam; he really did have two sides to him.

They hadn't walked more than five minutes when Sam heard a yell from behind them. His other human partners didn't notice it but he stopped.

"Hey, wait!" it shouted, its voice incredibly enthusiastic, "wait, just wait a moment! Oh, good you stopped, so watch out!"

The voice belonged to the small Magikarp who jumped out of the water and right into Sam's arms. The weight of the Pokémon knocked him back a step.

"Yes! Perfect landing!" he exclaimed, eyes shut in happiness, "I totally just guessed were you were, I swear."

"What do you mean you just guessed where I was?" Sam asked him. The rest of the group had stopped and turned back towards Sam.

"I can't see," the Magikarp said in a bright voice. He opened his eyes and Sam saw that the irises had turned into a milky blue colour. It was obvious that he was blind.

"Is this Team Magma's fault?" Sam demanded, his anger rising from the sight.

"What? No, I've always been blind," he said, still oddly happy despite all he had been through, "never been able to see since the day I was born."

"So, when you got stabbed in your eyes, that didn't do anything?"

"You mean other than hurt a lot? No, not at all," the Magikarp chuckled a little and Sam was going to ask another question before Daren interrupted.

"What are you doing, Sam?" he said. The tone of his voice was clearly a demand. Sam's eyes widened when he realized his mistake.

"I... I, um... I don't- I don't know what you're, um, talking about," he stammered out, scratching the back of his head.

"Smooth," Pyro said from the corner of his mouth.

"You are talking to a Magikarp," Daren stated flatly before his voice turned angry, "no one can understand what Pokémon say, let alone a freaking Magikarp!"

"I wasn't actually talking to it," Sam replied, trying to make Daren's argument sound ridiculous, "and what do you mean no one can understand Pokémon? It seems like you and your partners understand each other just fine."

"I can read their moods to see how they are feeling but I can't actually understand the words that they are saying," Daren said, his anger barely concealed behind his words, "you talk to your Pokémon like its nothing, you tell me my Pokémon's names and now you having a conversation with a Magikarp, a species that is known for how stupid they are. Sam, you literally can't read a Magikarp's emotions because their tone and their faces barely change."

"Well, my name's Tide in case you're wondering," the Magikarp said. Sam nearly missed what Tide said because he spoke so fast.

"I'm sorry, but am I missing something here?" Naomi asked hesitantly, her arm slightly raised like she was asking a question in class.

"In case you're wondering, Sam told me my Pokémon's names after barely a day of travelling with us," Daren said with a sigh of exasperation, "that is something I haven't managed to do in two years of travel and he managed it in less than a day. He pinned it on understanding Pokémon well but he told me that he didn't even like Pokémon. Pyro was given to him against his will as protection."

"Sam, he's right," Naomi said, her arms crossed across her chest. Her face wasn't angry, but concerned, "what aren't you telling us?"

Sam bit his lip, unsure on what to do. He looked down to Pyro, who shrugged as if to say '_it's up to you'_.

"I didn't get you in trouble, did I?" Tide asked. His voice seemed sad but Sam couldn't read his face. Magikarp really didn't show their emotions. He sighed and shook his head.

"If I tell you my secret, you have to promise not tell anyone else," Sam told them. They both agreed to his one requirement. He didn't know if was relieved his secret would be safe or worried about how they would react but he told them the truth either way.

"Bullshit," Daren muttered, "that's impossible. Humans can't talk to Pokémon."

"I'm siding with Daren on this one," Naomi said, "even if you can talk to Pokémon, why are you doing a delivery job? You could become an amazing Pokémon researcher instead. Being able to communicate with them would advance that field so much."

"I know, I know," Sam groaned, having going through these arguments so many times with himself in his head, "that's the truth though. I didn't tell anybody because I don't want to be famous. If people knew about this gift, I'd be requested for non-stop. Who knows, maybe someone would try to kidnap me to learn my secrets. I'm not ready for that life."

"That's a stupid reason," Daren said, shaking his head, "but I guess it's sort of reasonable. I mean, Team Rocket has done some messed up things in the past. From what you told me, they did beat you near death for a package. I wouldn't put it past them to kidnap a kid who could talk to Pokémon and do experiments on him."

"At least you understand, Daren. Do you see why I choose this route, Naomi?" the girl looked uncomfortable, like she didn't know what to say.

"Yeah, I guess I understand," she mumbled but it was loud enough for everyone to hear, "it would be easier to train your Pokémon if you actually knew what they were saying."

"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask you something," Tide said from Sam's arms, "I know this is kinda random and I totally understand if you don't accept but I was wondering if I could join your team. One of the others in my group said that injuries heal when you evolve so it got me thinking that if I evolved into a Gyarados my eyes might heal and I could see again. I've been waiting for years for it to happen, but I think I need battle experience because it clearly hasn't happened yet. So what do you say? Can I join?"

Sam blinked a few times, trying to process Tide's request. It was really sudden and he didn't know how to respond to it.

"What did it say?" Daren asked, showing genuine interest.

"Um, he asked to join us so he could evolve and cure his blindness," Sam said, summarizing Tide's request. Daren made an indistinct noise in his throat and Naomi bit her lip.

"Sam, I need to talk to you before you decide," Naomi said. Sam walked over with Tide still in his hands before she stopped him, "no, just you and me."

Sam handed the Magikarp off to Daren and his Pokémon and walked with Naomi to the edge of the forest.

"What's up? Why do we need to talk?" Sam asked, confused by her behavior. She turned to him, her face grim.

"How long has he been blind?" she asked and Sam told her, "Well that's a problem. He's never seen a fight before. Plus, he's over five years old, which is old for his kind."

"How can you tell how old he is? And why does that even matter?"

"You can tell how old a Magikarp is by counting the number of notches on the fins on their sides, one notch for every year. His age matters because once they hit three years their chances of evolving fall drastically. Add the fact that he's never seen a fight before and the chances fall even further."

"What are you saying?" Sam asked quietly, fearing that he already knew the answer. Naomi looked at her feet before responding.

"The odds are stacked against him," she said quietly and then looked Sam directly in his eyes, "with his blindness and age, the chances of him evolving are next to zero."

Sam didn't know what to do. He stared back at their group. Marla was holding Tide in the air and tickling him under the fins. The Magikarp was laughing hysterically, squirming to get out of the Swampert's grasp. He seemed so happy. How would he respond if he were told that his dream could never come true?

"I'm sorry Sam, but you had to hear that," Naomi whispered beside him. Sam leaned against a tree behind him, sliding down to the ground. He tore his eyes off the happy scene in from of him and focussed on the dirt road. The young nurse sat beside him.

"You want to know a funny thing about chances," Sam said that so quietly that Naomi barely heard it, "three weeks ago, my parents were told that their son barely had a chance of ever coming out of a coma. They were told it would be nothing short of miracle if he ever recovered," he paused and looked at Naomi with somber eyes, "yet here I am, talking to you, even though the chances said I would never recover. So let me ask you this. If I can get a miracle, why can't Tide?"

Naomi said nothing as Sam stood up. He looked back briefly to see that her eyes shone with tears. He turned away and walked over to Daren.

"You make up your mind yet?" he asked as Sam approached, switching his attention from the Pokémon to the human. He didn't know why but he felt like Sam had betrayed him. Maybe he thought that they were friends, so the fact that Sam had been keeping a secret hurt him. Then again, he had only known the kid for a few days. It's unreasonable that he should know everything about him.

"Yeah, and I need to ask you a question," Sam said, "Can I borrow I Pokéball?"

Daren smiled a bit before handing him a shrunken ball from his pocket, "I hope you know what you're doing."

"I don't," Sam said with a grin and took the ball from Daren's hand and pocketed it, "but that's the fun of it."

Marla was still tickling Tide but stopped when Sam approached. She turned the Magikarp so he could face the human.

"Can I join?" Tide asked, his voice filled with joy at the possibility. Sam walked over to Marla and took to Magikarp from her webbed hands. He held him at arm's length.

"Tide... welcome to the team!"


	9. Insomnia

The sun took its time in its descent from the sky. Light was not a problem for the group of humans and Pokémon in the woods. A fire was crackling merrily beneath the trees, giving off enough light for the nine creatures to see what they were doing. A low whimper came from one as two of its friends picked thorns from its fur.

"Ugh... I hate bug types," Callum groaned. "Why do they always pick on me?"

"You are a dark type, so they are more likely to attack a Pokémon of your type than a type like Pyro," Animus responded through a telepathic link. Daren and Naomi grinned at this, as they also shared the link with the Abra.

After fighting with Team Magma the group decided to train in Petalburg Woods. Daren's Pokémon and Pyro were the ones fighting, while Tide listened from sidelines in an attempt to pick up some battle techniques. They soon realized that Naomi's only partner was Animus. He didn't like to fight, and Naomi didn't force him to. He preferred to give advice to those who were battling, which was often useful. After several gruelling hours and many defeated wilds, they set up camp for the night.

"Do you think we'll ever understand Sam?" Daren asked suddenly, picking another green thorn from his Mightyena's hide. Naomi looked up, confused by this sudden question.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Daren shot a glance over to where Sam had been sitting. The scarred boy was nowhere to be found. Pyro and Draco were also absent. He figured that they were going off to find some more firewood or something.

"The kid claims to not be a trainer, yet he was the one who suggested we train," Daren explained. "I don't get him. He doesn't have a set personality."

"I'd put that on the concussion," Naomi said, scraping off more of the barbs. "People who suffer from concussions tend to experience mood changes and complete personality changes. As for the sudden urge to train his Pokémon, I think that comes from the ability to communicate with his partners."

"How do you figure?" Daren rested his arm on his knee and started at the redhead.

"He can talk to his partners like they're people," Naomi began. "That builds a whole new level of friendship when you can talk to your Pokémon like equals. Knowing their names made you closer to your Pokémon, didn't it?"

"Yeah, you're right," Daren agreed and resumed picking out spikes. "I've been travelling with them for two years and Sam comes along and tells me their names on his first day. I'm not going to lie; I am a bit jealous of his ability. I wish I could talk to them."

"You do realize he nearly died to receive his power, right?" Naomi reminded him. "You think you'd want those scars on his face and brain?"

"You know what I mean..." Daren mumbled and checked Callum's fur for anymore spikes. He couldn't find anymore and told the Mightyena the good news. His Pokémon stood up and stretched, satisfied that it was no longer in pain. He gave his trainer an affectionate lick and joined Marla, who was chatting with the blind Magikarp.

Daren was just about to relax when a yelp of pain came from deep in the woods. Panic rose inside of him, but it disappeared as he heard laughter shortly after. He laid back in the grass and began to wonder how much of a stronger bond he would have with his partners if he had Sam's powers.

"How did you manage to do that?"

Pyro's face was burning in embarrassment as Sam and Draco continued to laugh at his accident. His trainer was crouched by the Charmander, examining the fire type's paw. It was bleeding from the cut that ran across the length his palm, which Pyro had cut when he fell on an exposed rock. Normally, a cut like that wouldn't be a problem, but this one was filled with dirt and other rubbish, which posed a threat of infection.

"My foot got tangled in a bush," Pyro mumbled, hating the taunts. "it could've happened to you too."

"Yeah, but it didn't, which makes it so much funnier," Draco said, chuckling a bit which caused the firewood they had put on his back to wobble dangerously. Sam had stopped laughing, though the grin that remained on his face showed that he really wanted to continue.

"Come on, it's not that bad, you big wuss," Sam said while standing up. "We got enough wood for now so we can head back to camp. Maybe you can get Marla to clean you cut."

"Hell no!" Pyro exclaimed. "There is no way I'm telling her what happened so she can taunt me. She does enough of that as it is."

"Then I'll just tell her for you!" Draco yelled and broke out into a run.

"Draco, don't run!" Sam shouted, "We'll lose all the firewood!"

The Shelgon whined a bit, but listened to Sam and skidded to a stop.

"How come I got the job to carry all the wood?" he complained as they trotted through the woods.

"You got that job because you don't have any hands to pick it up," Pyro explained in a mocking tone. Draco glared at him but didn't respond. After a few minutes of walking, they reached the campsite. The Shelgon shrugged the wood on his back onto the ground in a heap.

"Hey, Marla!" he called out to the water type. She looked over at them. "Pyro has a boo-boo and wants you to clean it for him."

Pyro was wearing the most horrified expression as soon as the words came out of Draco's mouth. His shock quickly turned to anger and he punched the Shelgon before it could get away. However, the damage was done and Marla was already making her way over to him, a wide grin on her face.

"What did you do now?" Marla scolded. Pyro groaned and held up his injured hand, "Wow. That's what you were complaining about? How did you even manage to do that?"

"I tripped and fell. I swear, there must've been a knife hidden in the grass to slice my hand open like this," Pyro protested, but the bigger water type didn't buy it. Still giggling, she sat the Charmander down and shot a jet of water into the wound.

Sam didn't watch his Pokémon howl in pain and instead walked over to his other human companions.

"You guys turning in for the night?" he asked. He was answered with a yawn from Daren and an already snoring Naomi.

"I think she answers that question," Daren said with a chuckle. Sam smiled unrolled his sleeping bag onto the grass.

This would be his first night sleeping under the stars in his whole life. He was always kind of a shut in, never liking to go outside much. Most of his days were filled with video games and TV. His dad wanted to take him camping, but always turned down the offers.

He rested his head on his bag so it acted like a pillow and tried observed the night sky. It wasn't long before Pyro joined him. The Charmander curled into a little ball next to him and fell asleep instantly. Tide was with Marla, both of whom were snoring peacefully on the other side of the clearing.

Sam quickly checked around and noticed that everyone but him was passed out. He closed his eyes and tried to follow their example. However, no matter how hard he tried, his brain refused to shut down. That was odd. He was drained from the day of hiking and his body was pleading for some rest. Why was unable to fall asleep in an instant like he used to.

He remembered the nights after the initial concussion. Most of them he had the same problem, including the night before he started the journey. The only real nights of rest he had gotten since then was when he had been knocked out cold and after being sick on the first day. Maybe his sleeplessness had something to do with the injury. He resolved to ask Naomi in the morning.

Sam stared at the night sky and began to count the stars. Like counting sheep, he figured it would help him get to sleep. That didn't work and he just closed his eyes, hoping that he would just fall into a slumber.

* * *

"Get up," said a voice, followed by a weak kick to Pyro's ribs. He opened his eyes, squinting in the bright morning daylight. It was cool, but a little cold never bothered the Charmander.

"Sam, it's the crack of dawn," he mumbled, rolling back over. "We can sleep some more."

"Just get your lazy ass up," Sam said again, kicking his first Pokémon a little harder.

"Screw you," Pyro growled, sitting up to glare at his trainer. Sam glared right back at him. He was in worse shape than his partners, and he didn't even fight. His face was weary, bags under his eyes and the eyes themselves were bloodshot. He walked away before Pyro could do anything.

"What's wrong with Sam?" Tide said from the ground. "He sounded grumpier than yesterday."

"I don't know. You see anything wrong with his face? You know, other than the scars?"

"Pyro?"

"Yeah."

"You do remember that I'm blind, right?"

Pyro looked at the Magikarp with disgust. The water type's milky blue eyes didn't notice his hateful glare. Why would Sam let such a weak Pokémon like Tide join the team? It seemed like an insult to the Charmander, who had so much more potential than the blind fish.

"You coming or what?" Sam shouted from across the campsite. Only then did Pyro notice that everyone else was awake and mostly ready. Daren was double checking his supplies while his team goofed around, Naomi was having a chat with Animus and Sam was covering the remains of the fire.

"Come on, let's go!" Tide said, wiggling slightly with excitement. Then again, all he could do was wiggle slightly. "It's a new day and a new adventure!"

Pyro rolled his eyes at the Magikarp's happy tone. He started to walk away when Tide called out to him.

"Uh, can you carry me?" he asked, sounding a little embarrassed.

"Are you serious?" Pyro questioned, hating the water type more and more.

"I can't walk," Tide mumbled. Pyro stared at him incredulously before groaning and picking the smaller Pokémon up. He carried him over to the group, which went unnoticed by everyone except Sam.

"Oh, thanks, Pyro," he said, holding out his arms for Tide. Pyro threw the water type into Sam's chest, causing the human to stumble back. The Charmander stomped off, leaving Sam confused and a little angry.

"What was that all about?" he wondered.

"Have you not noticed that Pyro is kind of mean?" Tide answered.

Sam looked down at the Pokémon in his arms, then up to the Charmander waiting by a tree. "No, I am well aware of that fact."

"Is everyone ready to go?" Daren shouted. He was fully supplied and ready to go. Everyone murmured in agreement. "Alright then. Let's get started."

He trekked off into the bush, his Pokémon following closely behind. Pyro shot Sam a resentful glare and followed Daren. Sam looked down at Tide, and then back up at the rest of the group. He had a long, restless night, and was tired from the past few days. Something told him that this day was also going to be as tiring as the day before. Not wanting to get left behind, Sam ran to catch up with his new friends.

After many hours of walking and fighting wild Pokémon, the group finally cleared the forest and found an asphalt road. A few kilometres away, they could see the skyline of Rustburo peeking above the tree line. The weary group stepped onto the road and resumed their journey to the city, fueled by the prospect of a goodnight's sleep.

Unknown to them, a figure clad in black watched from bushes. Dark sunglasses and a black cap covered most of his face. He held a two-way radio in one hand, next to his mouth.

"Target had been spotted," he whispered into the mic. "Awaiting orders."

The other end crackled to life in a small burst of static. "Collect the package at all costs," said a gruff voice, distorted by the radio. "Use any force necessary."

"Roger that. Rocket one, out."

The man put the radio in his back pocket. The boss said any force necessary. He grinned at the thought and melted into the shadows.

* * *

_**A/N:** sorry for the long wait and measly chapter. I've been spending most of my time on my other stories, because I kinda got writer's block on this one. The last chapter I literally wrote in a day, yet this one took me over two months._


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